ST. PAUL - On the ice. Then off. Go. Go. Go. Move those feet. Move. Move. Move.

East Grand Forks has never been mistaken as a team suffering from a lack of aggression. Not with Tyler Palmiscno as head coach. Playing the Green Wave is about as fun as chewing glass. It isn’t so much as a game as it is a hostage situation. 

When the Green Wave won back-to-back Class 1A titles in 2014 and 2015, they had an abundance of skill. And still they played what was famously described back then as a “man’s game.” That’s hockey code for you are about to be bruised, battered and bludgeoned. Buckle up.

East Grand Forks went back to that winning formula with its special teams on Wednesday night in a 3-0 state Class 1A quarterfinal victory over Northern Lakes. The Green Wave were especially effective during a 5-minute penalty kill in the third period.

“We went to six forwards, and the shift length was 15 to 20 seconds,” Palmiscno said. “I’d be real curious how many forward changes we got in those 5 minutes. 

“And it was absolute relentlessness by our group.”

East Grand Forks’ power play worked pretty much the same way. The Green Wave went 2-for-3, and there wasn’t anything pretty about it.

“I think it was just a shot-first mentality,” said Jace Van Eps, who scored the first of East Grand Forks’ two power-play goals. “Just get pucks to the net, traffic around the net. Both goals we scored were just right on the crease.”

The Green Wave were battle-hardened for crucial moments such as those that presented themselves Wednesday night. The entered the tournament with a lackluster 13-13-2 record. But then, look at who they played. 

Metro-area Class 2A behemoths Wayzata and St. Thomas Academy both made the long drive to East Grand Forks. The Green Wave also squared off against Moorhead, the favorite to win this week’s Class 2A tourney.

The rest of their schedule looks like a Who’s Who of Class 1A bluebloods: Hermantown, Warroad (twice), St. Cloud Cathedral, Delano, Mahtomedi and on and on.

Even Palmiscno, who played four seasons for the University of North Dakota and has never shied away from a challenge, was wondering what he was thinking when he actually played the Frankenstein, errr, schedule he created.

“There were times throughout the year, when personally I was questioning putting that schedule together,” he said. “But I think you are seeing the proof of that a little bit. The thing we noticed as a staff was that we were never able to take a night off. There was never a night when we thought, ‘Oooh, we can have our B game and win.’ That was never the case.”

So the Green Wave learned the value of hard work. They learned standing still is death. They learned the value of quick shifts and go, go, go.

The Man's Game is back at the tourney. 

Buckle up.